OCR Rendition - approximate

89 ; EUGENICS their prevailing characteristic, each group being convenient for separate study. I could add other remarkable pedigrees from the same source, but these few will serve as a preliminary attempt to show the quality of material that exists, and a convenient form of treating it, which is the primary purpose of this small paper. The average number of kinsfolk in each degree should be borne in mind when reading the "Index." This was discussed by me in a paper in .Nature, September 29. From that discussion I now conclude that the average numbers of near. kinsmen who attain an age at which they would have achieved something noteworthy, if they possessed the necessary qualifications, would be roughly as follows:-grandfathers, 2 (r father's father and i mother's father); father, x ; uncles, 2 (1 father's brother and i mother's brother) ; brothers, i ; first cousins, 4 (see Table of Abbreviations) ; making xo altogether. Sons and nephews are rarely taken into account here, because they usually had not attained a sufficient age to enable them to do justice to their potentialities. by virtue of their Persons who have earned a place, achievements, in the " Dict. N. Biog.," in the " Ency. Brit.," or even in " Who's Who," are so far rarer than one in ten, that the appearance of one of them within the inner degrees of kinship of Fellows of the Royal Society, would give a. presumption of hereditary ability ; but when, as in the families who are indexed here, an average of four of these noteworthy persons fall within those near degrees, the presumption grows into certainty. The connection between achievement and ability is technically known as Correlation, though it be of a complex,' entangled, and discontinuous kind. Still, it must be governed by the law that links every pair of systems of correlated variables. Let the members of one of the two systems be called "Subjects, and those of the other " Relatives" , then, although we can never guess beforehand what Relative will be associated with any particular Subject, we can tell something about the group of Relatives that will be associated with any considerable number of similar Subjects ; namely, that the average of those Relatives will always be less exceptional than those. A EUGENIC INVESTIGATION 8g Subjects. In other words, very high achievement will, on the average, be associated with only high ability ; high achievement with moderately high ability; average with average; low with moderately low; very low with low. It is as yet impossible to say much more than this in respect to achievement and ability. Arrangements are in progress for an inquiry into the Biographies of Modern Families, of every social grade, each of these families being distinguished, as a whole, for Ability, Character, or Physique. Chief among these is the following, as extracted from the Times of October 27:- London, October 26.-At their meeting this afternoon the Senate had before them, and on the recommendation of the Academic Council accepted, an offer from Mr. Francis Galton, F.R.S., to endow a Fellowship in the University for the promotion of the study of "National Eugenics," defined as "the study of the agencies under social control that may improve or impair the racial qualities of future generations either physically or mentally." . The person appointed to this Fellowship will be required to devote the whole of his time to the study of the subject, and in particular to carry out investigations into the history of classes and families, and to deliver lectures and publish memoirs on the subject of his investigations. The endowment is sufficient to provide not only for the Fellowship, but also for the salary of an assistant, and for the general expenses of the contemplated work, which it is intended to place in one of the colleges or other institutions connected with the University. Full particulars of the post will be published shortly. Many persons have expressed interest in the progress of inquiries of this character. I hope, therefore, that some may be disposed to assist actively in procuring and sending information. Blank forms to receive the entries will be sent on application. It will be assumed that free use may be made of the information that is furnished, unless otherwise stated. FRANCIS GALTON. 42, RUTLAND GATE, S.W. October, r9o4. CIibPDF - www.fastio.com